Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Actually, if you knew what my calendar looked like, you wouldn't call me a slacker. But, when it comes to this blog, yes I am. Life is chaotic and since school has been done for Spring semester, my laptop has hardly been opened. I need to figure out how to email my posts and send them from my phone. So, it's time to catch up.

Spring semester ended with Commencement. No, I do not actually graduate until December, but I walked since I'm class of 2012, not 2013 (as a December grad, I'm given the choice). I'm NOT going back to that campus after I graduate, unless our daughter decides to attend in 6 years when she graduates high school.

We had a a few nights out, one with our daughter and the next night was adults only. Then we packed up and headed to NH/MA to for a few nights to get away for our wedding anniversary. Grades rolled in and I checked for my last one as we drove onto Cape Cod. I shrieked (and freaked out my Hubs) when it came in as an A- which meant A) Dean's List; and B) Graduate Cum Laude for my Degree. If I hadn't transferred from another College to the University [making those credits null towards my GPA], I would be borderline Summa Cum Laude. Oh well, I'll graduate just the same, but Honors is nice just because I'm almost 30 and didn't go to college until I was 25. Makes me feel like I didn't "lose my brain" completely [I was a great student in high school].

I've been working [A LOT] and our daughter decided to play Rec Softball this year. Practices and games are chaotic - I don't know how parents do this year round for different sports. Our daughter has always done karate and has participated in tournaments, but nothing like the chaotic schedule of softball. Years ago, we had started playing catch and she missed the ball, got hit in the face, and never wanted to play again. We didn't push her too much on it, but her best friend has been playing Rec ball for a few years and finally got her to try. Luckily, her bf's dad is also the coach, so with our work schedules, he has been able to transport her to games and I arrive shortly after it has started. She's enjoying it, though, and improving every day. We've finally gotten it through her head that she's not going to be a star player from the beginning, she was getting frustrated way too easily. Academics have always come easily to her, throwing distance and running bases were new. They won their first two games and have another one tonight. We're headed to the batting cages tomorrow for some practice. We started doing that last year and I forgot how much I enjoyed playing, too.

Hmm, you may wonder why there is a picture of a seat belt on my blog. I work for 2 EMS services. One is in my hometown and I have to commute to the Station for duty. The other is for the next town over and I live 3 miles from the Station - that means I can take call from home since I have a pager. I also have a radio so I may acknowledge calls "on the air" even if I'm not on call. I'm also innately curious, so when I'm not on call and my husband is away for work, my radio is on so I can listen and help if needed. A few nights ago, in the midst of a long work stretch, I crawled into bed after showering with my alarm set for 0415 (T-minus 7 hours away). I was out of bed 5 minutes later, redressed, grabbing my radio, and out the door. A multi-car MVC with rollover, possible entrapment, and probable CODE (someone dead/dying) was paged out - less than a mile from my home. It was a spectacular crash - and I mean that in the sense that parts of one of the vehicles were everywhere, not spectacular as in "KEWL, DUDE!!" No one was wearing seat belts. Injuries were extensive. Multiple ambulances were paged/responding/arrived/loaded/transporting in an amazingly short period of time due to the rural-ness of the location. We almost requested a helicopter.
I was back in bed in under an hour, but it took a while for the adrenaline to dissipate. At one point, one patient was yelling at me he couldn't stay still and it hurt too much. "You may have a spinal injury, I'm waiting for equipment to arrive." He continued to argue. "If you ever want to walk again, stay put and let me do my job. If you want a wheelchair for the rest of your life, go ahead and get up." He stayed put.
Now, I'm not going to be a hypocrite and tell you that you must wear a seat belt when I freely admit that don't always wear a helmet on my motorcycle. But, if you don't wear a seat belt, be prepared for people like me to show up. We are trained to prevent further injury. Let us do our jobs or be prepared to face the consequences. If you're lucky, it will only be a wheelchair and not a casket.